Personal Trainer: Keeping Clients from Overtraining

Exercising is by far one of the best things a person can do for their overall health, be it for physical, mental, or spiritual reasons.  Like a person going to a doctor when sick, people seek the advice of personal trainers to get a diagnosis on their health, and then a prescription of the right exercises tailored for them. A skilled, educated, and experienced trainer should know how to prescribe a workout without overtraining their client. 

Overtraining is a physical, behavioral, and emotional condition that occurs when the volume and intensity of an individual's exercise exceeds their recovery capacity. The client ceases to make progress, and can even begin to lose strength and fitness. Personal trainers will have a preference about how to train their client, whether it be training someone to improve overall health, weight management, stress reduction, or an athlete for their sport, however, they should follow strict periodization guideline.

Regardless of why a person is exercising, it all can be counterproductive if they are pushed to the point of overtraining. The following link gives the signs of over training that every personal trainer should know.

http://www.exrx.net/ExInfo/Overtraining.html

So how does a personal trainer avoid overtraining his or her clients? Here are 5 simple tips to help ensure a personal trainer does not overtrain his or her client:

1.     Quality over quantity: When starting out with a new client, a personal trainer should always pay close attention to providing cues on proper form of each exercise.

2.    Control the goal: If a client has an unrealistic goal, like losing 10lbs a week until they reach their desired weight, a personal trainer should educate them about why that is an impossible goal and help set one that is more realistic and appropriate.

3.    Empathy before intensity: Use appropriate periodization even when a client is exceeding expectations.  Ex: never go from 20min of cardio to 40min in the same week.

4.    Too much stress equals no progress: If a client is going through a stressful time and not getting the good quality sleep they need, it will affect their progress.

5.  Information before further stimulation:A personal trainer should always inquire about how each exercise makes a client feel, and level of muscle soreness during and post exercise.